


The Seer of National City

by TheNarator



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: "heroes" getting called on their bullshit, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cat Grant is amazing and also Supermom, Families of Choice, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Multi, Superheroes as Public Figures, i'm just forewarning you, this story is not nice to barry allen, this story is not nice to mon-el either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2018-08-29 14:02:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8492554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNarator/pseuds/TheNarator
Summary: In which Cisco leaves Earth-1 to go live on Kara's Earth and is promptly absorbed into Team Supergirl.





	1. Chapter 1

The cycle began, as the cycle always began, with a vibe.

Not for the first time Cisco picked himself up off the floor of his lab, his most recent vision having knocked him literally onto his ass. They’d been getting more violent recently, not that they’d ever been not-violent, and the physical side effects were getting more and more annoying. He thought he might have cracked his head on the floor that last time. It stung, and the back of his head was tender to the touch.

Once he was on his feet again Cisco crossed the cramped and cluttered room -- it might have been lined wall to wall with the latest technology, but it was still just the basement of an office building -- to dig his phone out of the mess that was his main work space. Then he opened his contacts and dialed two familiar numbers, rattling off the details of his vision to the women on the other end of each line. They were arguably the two most powerful women in the city, but to Cisco they were just girls he happened to know.  At that point his job was done, so he turned his TV to the news and waited.

For a while he was able to get lost in his work, putting together his latest machine. It hadn’t been ordered by anyone, it wasn’t needed for anything pressing; it was just something he thought would be fun to build. He enjoyed that, building something just for the fun of it. It made him feel like a kid again, tinkering with scraps in his parents’ garage. He thought fondly of the year he’d built his first computer, smiling to himself as he remembered the rush he’d felt when it booted up for the first time. He’d finished it just in time for Dante’s birthday, and . . .

“. . . live from the Lord Technologies building, where Supergirl is currently the only thing between the hundreds of lives within and a grisly death should the building collapse.”

Cisco looked up, his thoughts interrupted by the breaking news jingle of CatCo’s main news station. He’d met the woman currently on screen, narrating events as Supergirl shot heat vision at two support beams, welding them in place so that they would hold the building up properly again. He couldn’t remember her name, but he was sure they’d met. Maybe at one of the meetings he was sometimes invited to, when Cat was feeling indulgent.

“Incredible,” said the woman whose name Cisco didn’t remember, “simply incredible, the Girl of Steel has done it again!”

The crowd on screen whooped and cheered as Supergirl hovered over them, waving like a kid at a parade. She really did enjoy the spotlight, and she was so good at being the hero that no one could claim she didn’t deserve it.

His phone buzzed on the table next to him, and Cisco picked it up curiously. He had a text message, from the contact simply labeled “Cat.”

_Come see me before you leave._

Making a mental note, Cisco went back to his work.

***

Cisco Ramon and Cat Grant, were, as a general rule, the last two people to leave the CatCo building in the evening. Cisco rode upstairs in Cat’s own private elevator, the boss’s little secret kept carefully away from prying eyes, and as he walked through the top floor no one was there to greet him except the open doors of Cat’s office.

She had her back to him when he entered, but once she heard his footfalls Cat turned to glance at the door. She smiled, beckoning him inside, and Cisco took a few steps forward to stand between the elegant couches, still some ways from her desk. Then she went to the bar and began pouring two drinks from the expensive decanter she kept on hand.

“Nicely done this afternoon Cisco,” Cat said, handing him one of the aggressively modern glasses and taking a sip from her own. “The city thanks you.”

“As does CatCo, I’m assuming,” Cisco replied, merely examining his glass. Cat nodded to it, then smiled when he took a sip. It tasted . . . expensive.

“Yes,” she agreed. “You called Supergirl first, I assume?”

Cisco snorted. “I love you Ms. Grant,” he said, shaking his head, “but saving the city comes before getting you your scoop.”

“Good,” Cat said brightly, taking a seat on one of the white couches and patting the cushion next to her. “Then we’re on the same page.”

“I’m glad,” said Cisco, taking the offered place beside her.

“How did you get her number, by the way?” she asked, all innocence as Cisco took another sip.

“We’re superheroes,” Cisco replied, smiling cheekily. “We network.”

“You network?” Cat raised an eyebrow. She didn’t really look surprised, Cat never looked surprised. She just looked . . . curious.

“We’re all working towards a common goal here,” Cisco told her. “If you’re a hero and you meet another hero, you put them in touch with people.”

He carefully did not mention who, exactly, had put Vibe and Supergirl in touch with each other. That was something he was not prepared to discuss, with her or anyone.

“And how many people are you in touch with?” Cat wanted to know.

“Not too many in this dimension, sadly,” Cisco sighed. “I do know the Martian Manhunter though.”

“Yes that’s another number I’m going to want eventually,” Cat informed him.

“I contact him through an official channel,” Cisco explained, not quite untruthfully. He had J’onn’s number, of course, but he wouldn’t have called up the Director of the DEO just to chat.

“How many superheroes do you know in your home dimension?” Cat took another sip of her drink, trying and failing to look nonchalant.

“Does it matter?” Cisco wondered. “You’ll never meet any of them.”

Cat gave him one of her Looks, one that made him feel a little bit like a butterfly pinned to a corkboard. It was just a little bit nice, being the focus of such studious attention, but more unnerving than anything.

“I’m just wondering, not for the first time, why you left,” said Cat, still pinning him with her gaze.

Cisco looked down. “I told you Ms. Grant,” he said quietly. “That’s personal.”

Cat waited a moment, neither moving nor speaking, continuing her hard stare. Cisco weathered her scrutiny, trying to look as uncomfortable as possible. Cat was ruthless when she wanted something, but she wasn’t without mercy.

Eventually Cat tossed her hair and sat back. “You’ve never told me why you came to work for me either,” she said, taking another sip of her drink.

“Not a lot of businesses have a use for seeing visions of impending tragedies,” Cisco pointed out, not even trying to hide his relief.

“It’s not like that’s your only skill,” Cat pressed. “You’re an inventor, and a brilliant one at that. Maxwell Lord would steal you in a hot second, and he could give you a better lab than I have. Why come to work for me?”

“Feeling insecure?” Cisco teased. He wasn’t entirely sure he was allowed to tease Cat, but she didn’t glare him down, so he went on. “You know you’re the only one for me.”

“Maxwell Lord might have called wondering who I found to improve the operating efficiency on my CatCo brand tablets,” she said airily, as though supremely unconcerned with Max Lord and everything that he did.

Cisco hesitated a moment, considering. Cat’s insatiable curiosity was what made her so good at her job, and Cisco knew that he was second only to Supergirl in how much he fascinated her. There weren’t many things he felt comfortable discussing with her, but if it would give her something to throw in Max Lord’s smug face, then he could give her this.

“My last boss couldn’t exactly use what I gave him to help people as well as I thought he would,” Cisco began. “The one before that tried to kill me. Supergirl says you can be trusted, that when you call the shots things go right. I trust her judgement.”

“And, when you first came to this dimension, in wide-eyed awe of an unfamiliar city, how did you know you could trust her?” Cat wondered. There was something genuine in the question, something that made Cisco want to give her a genuine answer.

Giving a genuine answer would hit a little too close to home though, so Cisco settled on a glib, yet honest answer.

“Simple,” he shrugged. “I asked the guy who made her suit.”

“Her suit?” Cat repeated, sounding intrigued.

“Don’t you know?” Cisco said with mock concern. “When you want to take the measure of a superhero, ask her tailor.”

“I don’t suppose I could get that number, could I?” Cat asked, with equally mock innocence.

“Nice try, Ms. Grant,” Cisco put down his glass and stood up, grasping at the strap of his messenger bag for something to do with his hands.

He turned, but he hadn’t quite made it to the door when Cat called after him.

“Cisco,” she said, just loud enough to get his attention.

“Yes?” he turned back to her curiously.

“Goodnight,” she said simply, her tone unguarded.

Cisco nodded. “Goodnight Ms. Grant.”

“Get some rest,” she instructed, suddenly all business, walls firmly back in place. “There will be other visions tomorrow, more tragedies to avert, more news to report. I need you fighting fit.”

“Yes Ms. Grant,” Cisco nodded again, then turned and headed out of the office.

***

“Cisco!” called Kara’s voice somewhere off to Cisco’s left as he made his way into his apartment building. He paused in the doorway, turning toward the sound of her voice to see her jogging toward him at a speed approximating a normal human 25 year old in three inch heels.

“Hey,” Cisco greeted as Kara came up beside him, and the two of them made their way inside together.

“Thanks for the tip this afternoon,” Kara said once they were in the elevator, grinning in her adorably enthusiastic way. “I don’t think I’d have made it in time to stop that building collapse if not for the heads up.”

“No problem Boss,” Cisco gave a mock salute.

“I’m not your boss Cisco,” Kara laughed. “Cat’s your boss. We’re partners.”

“You do most of the work,” Cisco pointed out.

“We’re a _team_ ,” Kara insisted. “We’re all important, and I couldn’t have done what I did today without you.”

Kara Danvers, Cisco reflected, was Good in a way most people could only dream of being. She was a simple, uncomplicated kind of good, the kind that didn’t come from a dark and troubled past or the need to atone for previous sins. Her past had been full of love and care, and it had made her want to pass that love and care on to the rest of the world. She did what she did out of the goodness of her heart, and she’d done it long before Cisco had shown up.

Cisco opened his mouth to argue that point when suddenly the elevator door opened, revealing a dingy hallway with six doors. One of them was already open, light spilling out from the apartment Cisco shared with Winn as James peered out into the hall, presumably waiting for Kara and Cisco. Well, more Kara than Cisco really.

“You’re both late,” Winn accused once they were inside. “We were about to start game night without you.”

“You’d never start game night without us,” Kara insisted as James took her coat.

“Ms. Grant wanted to talk to me,” Cisco explained, shrugging out of his own coat and hanging it by the door.

“About what?” Alex wondered from her position on the sofa, glass of wine already in hand as she opened the Trivial Pursuit box and began setting up.

“The usual,” Cisco shrugged. “Supergirl mostly.”

“Mostly?” Kara said knowingly. “I’ll be she called you in there to thank you and you’re just too polite to say anything.”

Cisco smiled just a little. “Well _maybe,_ ” he twirled a piece of hair coyly, “she did have a few words of gratitude.”

“The man who can get Cat Grant to say ‘thank you’ can do anything,” Winn pronounced.

“I thought I was the man who could do anything?” Mon piped up from over by the table, where he’d already begun opening the pizza boxes.

“You can’t fly,” Kara corrected.

“Or use heat vision,” James added.

“Or freeze breath,” Alex supplied.

Mon swept a wounded look over the congregation. “Cisco,” he called reaching out with one hand and clutching his heart with the other, “back me up here.”

“Mon,” Cisco hesitated, wondering how to respond, “can do anything he puts his mind to. Dude can keep up with Supergirl, even without the same powers she has; that’s pretty impressive by itself.”

Mon puffed up his chest proudly, and Kara laughed. This made Mon pout, which in turn made Alex and James laugh too. Winn grabbed a slice of pizza and beckoned everyone around the table, and Cisco let himself be absorbed into game night.

Even after six months of game nights it was still a relatively new experience for Cisco; up to this point in his life he’d generally run with the type of people who would rather watch a movie and veg out than actually engage with each other. Not that Kara’s group didn’t do plenty of vegging, but there were always moments like these too, everyone talking over each other about something fun, rather than something life threatening.

It was . . . nice. He had to admit that it was nice.

Eventually the evening wound down, and with the pizza gone and the wine bottles empty game night finally drew to a close. Kara took off out the window, Alex and James bundled up and left via the door, and Mon hung back a few minutes as the rest of the guests departed.

“Thanks for having my back,” Mon said quietly to Cisco as the two of them stood near the door, Winn picking up in the kitchen and the rest of the group already gone.

“We were on the same team,” Cisco shrugged. “It was in my best-”

“No,” Mon shook his head, “I mean before. When you said I could do anything?”

“Oh,” Cisco blinked. He’d nearly forgotten about that. “Uh, I meant it.”

“Good,” said Mon, looking down at Cisco with a strange look in his eye. He was _very_ tall, and loomed over Cisco in a way that reminded him vaguely of Cat at her most impressive. “It means a lot to me that you think that.”

“It does?” Cisco wondered, one hand coming up reflexively to fiddle with his own hair. He usually did that when he was nervous. Why was he nervous?

Mon grinned. He leaned down just a little, just far enough that Cisco was ready to rock back on his heels, then turned to look further into the apartment where Winn had just looked up at them.

“See you Winn,” Mon said, then winked cheekily at him before turning back to Cisco. “You too.”

“See you,” Cisco echoed, and like that Mon-El of Daxam disappeared.

“Dude,” Winn said, a wide grin splitting his face, “he was totally flirting with you.”

“What?” Cisco demanded. “No, dude, he was flirting with _you._ Did you see that wink?”

“Man I thought he was gonna go in for a kiss there for a second,” Winn protested. “I was about to avert my eyes and everything.”

“I think that’s just how Mon is,” Cisco sighed. “He flirts with everyone.”

“He’s never flirted with Alex,” Winn pointed out.

“Alex is too scary to flirt with,” Cisco argued. “Trust me, I used to have a thing for the whole tall, dark and lethal thing she has going on. That got me nowhere.”

“It’s a curse,” Winn agreed. They’d talked at length about the similarities between Golden Glider and Silver Banshee. It was, after all, one of the many reasons they’d decided to become roommates -- the better to stop each other from making the same mistake twice.

Cisco helped Winn clean up the kitchen, throwing out the pizza boxes and recycling the empty wine bottles. Once everything was put away Winn drifted off toward his own room, while Cisco pretended to do the same. Then, when he was sure Winn was asleep, he got up and returned to the living room. He turned down the volume on the TV and popped in the first Star Wars movie, snuggling on the couch under the afghan Kara had given them for a housewarming gift. If he was lucky, he’d only get through the first two movies before succumbing to exhaustion.

Sleep had not been Cisco’s friend for some time now. On the rare occasion that he could fall asleep like a normal person his dreams were plagued with echoes of old vibes. More often than not it simply wouldn’t come, his brain refusing the quiet down. Some part of him wanted to tell Winn or Kara, but there was nothing either of them could do and hence no point in worrying them. It was better just to stay up watching movies until sleep was no longer a choice to be made.

He really needed to get a TV in his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Kara Danvers was woman enough to admit when she had been caught by surprise.

She was not, however, above deflecting blame for that surprise, and if anyone asked she would insist that this time wasn’t her fault. No one had warned her that this particular alien could teleport, or that it could turn invisible.

“Where are you?” she called, using her X-ray vision to scan the dingy and otherwise deserted alley. Nothing.

Abruptly there was a sharp pain in her side, and she whirled around to see the spindly creature she’d been hunting hop backwards, its claws wet with blood. She looked down, to see a gash in her side; it wasn’t bad, but the fact that this thing could wound her at all was a sign of how serious a threat it was.

With a _pop_ it vanished again, and Kara turned on her X-ray vision just long enough to see its skeleton vanish as well. So she _could_ see it while it was invisible, it was just that it moved around too much.

“I’m giving you one chance to come quietly,” Kara said, in her most commanding voice.

The two clawed feet that slammed into her back, making her pitch forward onto hard concrete, were answer enough. Half a dozen more pinpricks of pain came from her shoulder blades, and she flung out her hands to stop herself from falling. She only managed to land flat on her stomach, breathing hard as another _pop_ signaled the creature’s departure.

Kara groaned, wincing as she picked herself up. She was going to be sore tomorrow.

***

 _“What_ have you done to my suit?” Winn demanded when Kara presented him with her costume, ripped on one side and with six small holes in the back.

“I thought it was my suit,” Kara said innocently, an adorable look of distress on her face as she watched Winn appraise the damage.

Cisco, watching in amusement from the other side of the kitchen table, laughed lightly through his nose. “I think maybe joint custody would be the best solution,” he suggested mildly.

“Laugh it up,” Winn suggested, “I’m the one who has to repair this thing.”

“Can you do it before tonight?” Kara asked, sounding worried. “Senator Crane is in town again, and her rally is bound to be a target. Supergirl needs to be there.”

Winn rolled his eyes. “I made you a spare suit for emergencies,” he assured her. “Go look in the back of my closet.”

Kara squealed in delight and hugged Winn, then raced off to find the spare suit. A few moments later she was calling her goodbyes and taking off out of the window.

Winn went to the hall closet and pulled out his sewing machine. The holes in the back would require patches, but the gash along the side could simply be sewn shut, so Winn got to work doing just that. Cisco kept his place on the other side of the table, watching as Winn lined up the two torn edges and began stitching them back together.

Winn glanced up at his friend, watching as Cisco kept his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the sewing machine. He looked almost hungry, with a wistful edge to it that seemed entirely out of place when observing chores. That being said, Winn knew exactly why Cisco was watching him with that look in his eye.

“You wanna help?” Winn offered, pausing in his work with the rip halfway sewn up.

Cisco blinked, then shook his head as though he’d only just realized he’d been staring. “No,” he said hurriedly, “I’m okay. You’re the costume guy in this universe, you get to do it.”

“You used to be the costume guy,” Winn pointed out.

“In my old universe,” Cisco countered, looking down. “I gave that up when I came here.”

“You don’t have to stop doing everything you were doing before, just because you moved,” Winn told him. “You came here because you wanted a change, but not _everything_ has to be different.”

“It’s your thing,” Cisco protested. “I wouldn’t want to step on your toes.”

“You’re not stepping on my toes,” Winn laughed. “I’m one of like a dozen people playing computer genius at the DEO, I’m used to sharing.”

“Yeah but you speak Kryptonian,” Cisco waved a hand in exasperation. “You _code_ in Kryptonian. You’re like, the Alpha Nerd.”

“And you’re afraid you’ll threaten my Alpha Nerdness?” Winn wanted to know.

“Not really,” Cisco admitted. “It’s just that, well, I’m used to being more . . . needed, than this.”

“You are needed,” Winn said reflexively.

“Not as much as you,” Cisco argued.

“How am I more needed than the literal psychic?” Winn demanded, grinning at the absurdity of it.

“Kara was doing fine before I got here,” Cisco explained, “but you? She’d never have gotten as far as she has without you. You built her suit, and you guided her through those first few weeks as a hero that built up the city’s faith in her. You build her gadgets, maker her armor, and you even even build stuff for her allies, for Mon and James. You’re here for the whole team, with whatever they need.”

Winn stared at Cisco, eyes wide. Sure Kara had told him more than once that she wouldn’t have gotten through those first few weeks without him, but that was when she knew he was feeling down and needed a boost. To hear all that he did for the team laid out like that made him feel . . . special.

“Uh, thanks,” he said awkwardly. “Did people used to say stuff like that to you?”

Cisco snorted. “No, not really. Not ever, actually. After a while I learned to be my own cheerleader.”

“Well how about remembering how it’s done,” Winn advised. “You’ve got superpowers, superpowers that help Kara save people every day. Crime is down since you’ve been here, as are death rates from alien attacks and other disasters, plus we’ve never been bringing in alien criminals so fast. You’re doing good here, Cisco, you just need to realize it.”

Cisco shook his head. “I just feel like I should be doing more.”

Winn bit his lip, thinking. Carefully he bent over the sewing machine and resumed closing up the gash, and he kept his eyes on his work rather than looking at Cisco.

“There is one thing you could be doing,” he offered, going for off-handed.

He didn’t need to be looking at Cisco to hear the scowl in his voice. “No.”

“Oh come on,” Winn stopped sewing again and looked up at Cisco. “You can’t keep them a secret forever.”

“I’m not telling Kara about my active powers,” Cisco said firmly.

Winn held up his hands. “I’m just saying that if you wanted to do more that’s an option you have.”

“No it’s not,” Cisco argued. “My powers are dangerous, they’re . . . too strong. They’ll corrupt me if I’m not careful.”

“So be careful!” Winn countered. “Kara will help you, she’s not gonna let you go all darkside on us.”

“I don’t know that she’d be able to stop it,” Cisco admitted. “They, don’t come from a good place.”

“Oh please,” Winn rolled his eyes, “you don’t think I’ve ever questioned my gadget building prowess because I got it from my dad.”

Cisco frowned. “That’s different,” he said firmly, “you can’t go darkside from building stuff.”

“Tell that to the people Toyman killed,” Winn advised.

Cisco looked down. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know,” Winn told him, “but you’re not the only one whose talents came from a place of evil. If there’s one thing that Kara’s taught me it’s that you choose your own path. Your past doesn’t define you, just because you got these powers from the Reverse Flash doesn’t mean you’re like him.”

Cisco looked away, a pained look in his eye. Winn watched his friend with a sick feeling in his stomach, wondering if he’d pressed too far. Cisco had trusted Winn by telling him about the powers he had besides clairvoyance, and Winn didn’t want to abuse that trust.

“You could just tell Kara,” he suggested. “You don’t have to help her fight right now. You could just talk about it, about your powers. I’m sure she’d want to help.”

Cisco shook his head. “She’d want me to use them,” he said. “It’s not worth the risk.”

Winn sighed, but he sensed that he wasn’t going to get anywhere else with Cisco today. He bent over his sewing machine, yet again, and finished closing up the gash.

***

There were a number of things that Cat had insisted Cisco should have. She wanted him to have his own lab, so she’d converted the basement of her main CatCo building into one for him. She’d wanted him to have a nice apartment, so she’d had him and Winn moved into a large two-bedroom on the better side of town.

She’d also wanted him to have a car, not being particularly trustful of public transportation as she was, so it was in his sporty white Tesla that he drove out into the desert beyond the outskirts of National City. He knew the location of the former DEO headquarters, and where all the testing sites were, so he carefully avoided familiar places until he was far enough out that he doubted anyone would be able to see him, even at a distance. Then he parked the car, got out, and began to walk.

He didn’t go too far. He didn’t want to lose sight of his ride and have to call Kara to come get him, but he also didn’t want to be too close to it. He walked until the Tesla had shrunk to a toy sized version of itself over his shoulder before he turned around. He faced the car, reminding himself that he could stop this and go home at any time. If this didn’t work, it wouldn’t matter.

He’d thought about this a lot, in the early days after he discovered his powers. Watching Ronnie had given him the idea, and once he’d come to this universe it had only grown stronger, gnawing at the back of his mind. He pointed his palms at the ground and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the feeling that wearing the vibe goggles gave him.

Nothing happened.

Cisco huffed, then gritted his teeth and thought harder. He’d left the goggles behind in his first universe, refused to bring anything that reminded him of his past. He didn’t need them though, he knew he could do this without them.

 _My past does not define me_ , he thought. Winn’s words.

He thrust his palms at the ground and out of them came a blast of vibrating energy, hard enough to lift him up off his feet. He fell straight back down again though, so he thrust out his palms again, concentrating on sustaining the blast. He was lifted up again, but this time he didn’t fall; instead he rose higher and higher, propelling himself into the air. The rocks and pebbles beneath his feet grew smaller and smaller until they blended in with the sand, the ground becoming distant and the sky surrounding him until he was level with the few sparse clouds.

Then he turned his hands so that his palms were pointed behind himself, and shot forward.

The wind whipped by, roaring in his ears and blowing his hair back as he flew through the sky. He angled his body so that it was parallel with the ground, and the added aerodynamics seemed to help him pick up speed. He knew, intellectually, that he couldn’t actually be going very fast, but it felt like he was going hundreds of miles per hour.

Eventually he realized that he was losing altitude, so he positioned his hands so he was going upward at an angle. He couldn’t maintain that angle for long without going too high, and he realized he’d have to keep adjusting as he went, rising and falling a few dozen feet at a time. Once he had that figured out he developed a rhythm, undulating his flight path through the sky.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the feeling of weightlessness overwhelm him. It was oddly soothing, in its own way.

“Your technique needs work,” said a voice off to his left.

Cisco eyes snapped open and he lurched to his right, away from whoever it was that had interrupted his reverie. He let out a little shout of alarm and automatically his hands flew up to ward them off, but that now meant that the blasts he was still firing were propelling him sideways instead of forward. He spun off course, turning over and over in a ridiculous barrel roll toward a painful collision with the ground.

Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around Cisco’s waist, and he stopped spinning towards his death. He was turned upright, and his descent was slowed to a more manageable pace. Before he knew it he was on the ground, being set back on his feet by the Director of the DEO.

“J’onn!” Cisco snapped, slapping one hand over his heart. It was beating faster than he’d been flying. “Don’t sneak up on people like that!”

“Sorry,” J’onn chuckled, shifting back into his human shape. “Would you rather I’d sent a drone?”

“Drone?” Cisco blinked. “To do what? Scare the crap out of me?”

“The DEO still monitors this airspace,” J’onn informed him. “Did you really think we wouldn’t realize you were out here?”

Cisco’s stomach dropped. “Wait, the whole DEO saw me flying?”

“The sensors picked you up,” J’onn explained, “but none of our cameras could see you. I figured I’d better go check it out myself.”

“So no one will know anything until you report back?” Cisco asked hopefully.

J’onn gave Cisco a knowing look. “No,” he admitted.

Cisco pressed his palms together as though praying. “Please,” he said, “please, please don’t tell anyone about this!”

“I won’t,” J’onn said, surprising Cisco, but then he went on. “But in exchange you’re going to answer a few questions.”

Cisco bowed his head guiltily. He’d figured this was coming. “Deal,” he said sheepishly.

“How long have you had those powers?” J’onn wanted to know.

“Since before I came here,” Cisco confessed. “I got them a few months after I found out I could see the future.”

J’onn’s next question was the one that Cisco had been dreading. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“I didn’t want anyone to know,” Cisco hedged.

“I hope you don’t think we’d consider you a threat,” J’onn said, frowning in concern. “After everything we’ve done with Supergirl-”

“I’m not like Supergirl!” Cisco snapped, then winced. That had been rude, and J’onn now looked shocked. “I mean, I can’t be like her. I can’t do it.”

J’onn studied him for a moment, then sighed. “You don’t want to use your powers,” he realized. “For anything, am I right?”

“I’m ok with using the vibes,” Cisco said nervously. “I can’t stop them from coming, so I might as well use them. The vibration blasts though, they’re too powerful. What if I hurt someone?”

“That’s why you train,” J’onn said seriously. “If you want, the DEO can-”

“No,” Cisco cut him off, shaking his head. “I don’t want to work for the DEO. I can’t be a superhero and I can’t use my powers to work for some government agency with almost no accountability. No offense.”

“I understand,” J’onn assured him. “Not many aliens want to help with what we do. But why not be like Supergirl? Be a hero for the people of National City?”

Cisco looked away. “You know there was a time I would have jumped at the chance?” he began. “I would have loved to be superhero, fight bad guys and save people and have the whole city love me.”

“What changed?” J’onn asked.

“I did,” Cisco told him. “I got what I wanted, the power to be a hero, but not the way I wanted it. It came from something, from someone, evil.”

Cisco looked down at his hands, at the calloused fingers and slightly sweaty palms. They looked ordinary enough, but he knew, deep down, they’d never be ordinary again.

“I don’t know that these powers can be used for good,” he admitted, in a small voice.

Suddenly Cisco felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see J’onn smiling down at him. “I can’t tell you what to do with your powers,” he said simply, “that’s your choice to make. Just know that I don’t think of you as a threat, and neither does Supergirl. Whatever it is you're afraid of, you don’t have to face it alone.”

A pang shot through Cisco’s heart at the familiar words, but he forced a smile anyway. J’onn deserved that much from him.

“Thanks,” he said, “and thanks for not telling Kara about this. I’m not ready for her level of . . . enthusiasm.”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” J’onn laughed. “Trust me I understand your reluctance to tell her. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Good,” said Cisco, “but I have one more favor to ask of you.”

“What’s that?” J’onn asked curiously.

“Do you think you could take me back to my car?” Cisco asked nervously. “I think I’ve done enough flying for one day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned for more pep talks!


	3. Chapter 3

Not for the first time, Cat had reason to regret giving Kara her promotion to reporter.

This wasn’t to suggest that Kara wasn’t thriving in her new occupation -- on the contrary, her articles were among the most well received in her publication -- but rather it was that her replacement was so ill-equipped to fill the shoes Kara had left that it would have been laughable had it not been so unendingly frustrating. 

The girl -- Julia? Jenniffer? -- was currently sorting through her phone, trying desperately to figure out who Cat’s 4:00 appointment was with so that she could prep her boss for the meeting.

“I know it’s in here somewhere,” she said, tapping the screen rapidly.

Cat glanced at her watch. 3:59.

“Oh get out,” she snapped, startling her assistant out of her concentration. “I’ll find out who it is when they get here, and simply rely on my innate talents to carry me through the results of your incompetence.”

Jennifer -- Jackie? Jackie. -- nodded apologetically, then hurriedly backed out of the room.

Cat checked her hand mirror, making sure her hair and makeup were perfect. She had to present and intimidatingly beautiful picture if she was going to get in front of the situation. She’d have to make whoever she was meeting with do most of the talking.

“You look perfect Cat,” said a familiar voice from the doorway, and Cat hurriedly put away her compact.

“Max?” she asked, startled. “What are you doing here? No nevermind, just leave, I have a 4:00 appointment and-”

“I’m your 4:00,” Maxwell Lord said, striding nonchalantly into Cat’s office. He wore a sky blue button down shirt, perfectly tailored slacks and a sleek, elegant messenger bag slung over one shoulder.

“I don’t remember approving that,” Cat said snidely. She had very little patience for Maxwell Lord on the best of days, but ever since his plan to kill a significant chunk of the city to stop Myriad she’d had even less patience.

“I may have hacked your system and penciled myself in,” Max admitted, closing the doors behind himself. Then he sidled over to the desk and took one of the seats in front of it, staring at Cat with his infuriatingly charming eyes.

“To what do I owe the forced entry?” Cat wondered, trying to sound only vaguely interested.

“I wanted to discuss your CatCo brand tablets,” Max said, rather directly in Cat’s opinion.

“Yes, they’re selling a bit better than your Lord Industries tablets,” Cat said as though entirely unconcerned.

“Almost twice as well,” Max informed her. “Their operating efficiency is 40% better, their storage capacity is 1/3 larger and their download speed is four times faster.”

Cat shrugged, tossing her hair flippantly. “Well I can see why they’re-”

“Four times faster, Cat,” Max interrupted. “That kind of technology is years ahead of anything I’ve ever built. In fact-”

He paused, narrowing his eyes.

“-it’s lightyears ahead.”

“You think I’m using alien technology?” Cat inquired innocently.

“You are the single biggest champion of alien rights in the city,” Max pointed out.

“I assure you, everything that goes into my CatCo tablets is produced right here on Earth,” Cat assured him.

“By who?” Max wanted to know.

“Ha!” Cat laughed. “You think you’re going to poach my R&D team!”

“I might want to pick their brains,” Max admitted, with no shame whatsoever.

“Quite literally, I’d imagine,” Cat speculated. “I’m not telling you who made the tablets Max.”

Max sighed. “I didn’t want to resort to this Cat,” he said warningly, “but I guess I have to.”

He reached into the messenger bag and pulled out a stack of papers, then tossed them carelessly onto Cat’s desk.

Cat made a show of putting on her glasses and examining the material critically, then looked back up at Max. “You hacked my phone records?”

“I started noticing something odd about your news channel recently,” Max informed her. “Your people seem to be on the scene of every crisis that Supergirl handles right as it begins.”

“I like to keep track of Supergirl’s movements,” Cat said dismissively.

“How can that be the case when you show up before she does?” Max inquired.

“I have my finger on the pulse of this city,” Cat said more firmly. “It’s my job to gather information.”

“It’s not your job to know about crises before they happen,” Max told her. “Which is exactly what you’ve been doing. In the last six months twenty seven phone calls have been made from this office to the sites of major disasters, warning people to evacuate. Somehow, you’re finding out about everything from alien attacks to natural disasters,  _ before _ they begin.”

Cat sighed, closing her eyes as though in intense boredom. “Alright,” she sighed. “You’ve got me. I have a psychic on staff.”

She opened her eyes again, staring at Max condescendingly, only to find Max’s eyes narrowed in shrewd calculation. He stared at her, considering, and she stared him down. She would not allow herself to be cowed, by Maxwell Lord or anyone.

“I thought maybe you were somehow causing all of this,” he said, “but even before I found that highly unlikely. Either you’ve found a way to cause earthquakes, or-”

he paused, smiling,

“-you’re telling the truth.”

“I thought a man of your intellectual caliber would understand sarcasm Max,” Cat said, trying to sound as patronizing as possible, “or at least know that there’s no such thing as psychics.”

“There didn’t used to be any such thing as aliens,” Max pointed out. “The world’s a different place these days.”

“I assure you, I have no aliens on my staff,” Cat said, with perfect honesty. Cisco was from another dimension, not another planet.

“We’ll see,” said Max, smiling slyly, and he got up from his chair. “Keep those phone records, and get better cyber security. Your firewalls are pitiful.”

With that he turned and left her office, leaving Cat feeling extremely frustrated behind him.

She never should have let that handsome little hobbit quit.

***

Cat didn’t make a habit of dropping in on her employees while they were doing their jobs. She only hired people who were self-motivated and extremely hard-working, so random visits from the boss would only serve a distraction. Certainly it might have put the fear of Cat Grant into their hearts, but she felt that her reputation alone did that well enough.

There was, however, one employee that she did feel it prudent to visit during normal working hours.

“Ms. Grant,” greeted Cisco when Cat’s private elevator dinged open, revealing the main entrance to Cisco’s personal research and development lab. He looked up from what he’d been working on, something on the computer for once, and made to stand when she approached.

Cat waved a hand and Cisco sat back down again. “Hello Cisco,” she said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. “Anything to report?”

“Ha!” Cisco laughed, but at Cat’s blank look his face fell. “Just, report. Because this is a media company. You report the news.”

Cat gave him a decidedly unimpressed look.

“Nevermind,” he said hurriedly. “Uh, no new visions today.”

“Good,” Cat pronounced, chipper smile back in place. “It seems we might be able to go a week without something catastrophic happening in this city.”

“Fingers crossed,” Cisco agreed, smiling nervously.

“What are you working on?” Cat wanted to know, peering over his shoulder at the computer screen. All that was displayed were lines of unreadable green code against a black screen. 

Cisco grinned, nervousness forgotten. “An app!” he said proudly.

“What does it do?” Cat inquired, looking dubiously at the code.

“It tracks Supergirl!” Cisco said excitedly. “It monitors every news show, radio station and social media site for mentions of supergirl sightings, then plots her most recent location on a map of the city.”

“Couldn’t that be potentially used against her?” Cat wondered. “If nothing else someone might use it to stalk her, potentially find out her real name.”

“Ah,” said Cisco, “that’s why there’s a delay on the map updates. It only shows where she was last sighted after she’s already left!”

“So it makes people feel connected to Supergirl without actually giving them any sensitive information,” Cat concluded. “I like it.”

Cisco beamed at her. “I thought you might. And I figured I’d make you a version that updates faster, since I know you can be trusted.”

Cat gave him an approving smile, but inside she was cringing. Since the day he had shown up at CatCo, Cisco had given her his unwavering trust. She knew that trust came from Supergirl, from the relationship Cat had with the Girl of Steel, but still there was something endearingly innocent about the way Cisco believed in Cat. He’d never once doubted that she had the best interest of the city at heart, or thought that she would misuse anything that he gave her, even if it was dangerous.

To know that she had just betrayed that trust by giving away the fact that he existed to Max Lord, arguable the most dangerous person in National City, did not sit well with Cat.

As soon as that thought occurred to her Cat immediately shook it off. It hadn’t really been a betrayal, after all. She’d been trying to throw Max off his scent and Max had been too clever to be dissuaded. She was doing everything she could to shield Cisco, and if Max came after him she would rain down righteous fury on his smug head so hard it would make Supergirl jealous.

Still, Max Lord was a powerful man, and he had very few scruples when it came to getting what he wanted. He’d decided that he wanted to know about know about both her mysterious R&D genius  _ and _ her information source, and the fact that they were one and the same made Cisco vulnerable on two fronts. She would have to step up her security measures when it came to him, maybe inform Supergirl of the threat.

She considered, for a moment, telling Cisco. He might want to know, if he was in this kind of danger; a more sentimental person might have considered it his right to know. Eventually though she decided against it. There was no reason to frighten him, when he himself couldn’t do much for his own protection. It was best not to tell him.

If that made a little niggle of guilt spring to life in the back of Cat’s mind, she ignored it.

“How are you?” she asked, rather unguardedly.

Cisco looked at her in confusion. “Fine?” he said tentatively. “I’ve been good, I guess. I mean, I haven’t been sleeping much, but that’s not exactly new.”

“I’ll get you in to see someone about insomnia this afternoon,” Cat declared offhandedly, pulling out her phone to text Jackie.

“I don’t think meds are going to stop superpower-enhanced nightmares,” Cisco told her.

Cat lowered her phone, sighing exasperatedly. “How’s life with a roommate treating you? You could live on your own, if you want-”

“I like living with Winn,” Cisco told her. “I don’t like being alone these days.”

“What, no girlfriend?” Cat wondered.

Cisco shook his head.

“Boyfriend?” Cat guessed.

This time Cisco hesitated before shaking his head. Cat arched an eyebrow, and he looked away.

“There’s . . . there’s this guy I kind of like,” he admitted.

Cat filed that away for future reference. “What’s the hold up then?” she asked. “Not enough time in your busy schedule? Worried about him finding out you’re not from this dimension?”

“He already knows about that,” Cisco told her, “and no, I have plenty of time. It’s just . . .”

“What?” Cat pressed.

“I’m not sure at he likes me,” Cisco confessed. “He flirts with me sometimes, but he flirts with everyone. It’s hard to tell if he’s genuinely interested or if he’s just being . . . him.”

“You want my advice?” Cat offered. Before Cisco could reply she went on, “Oh who am I kidding, you need my advice. You’re just like Kara, my old assistant, brilliant but just painfully unassertive.”

“I think I’ve read something by her,” Cisco noted. “She’s good.”

“Of course she is,” Cat agreed, “she had me for a mentor. Now, I don’t know how things worked in your home universe, but here no one is going to just hand you anything. If you want something, you have to go out and get it.”

Cisco looked at her in confusion. “How does that apply to-”

“If you want his attention,” Cat enunciated clearly, unsurprised that she had to spell it out for him, “then take it. Go after what you want; he’ll appreciate your initiative.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Cisco wondered.

“Then he wasn’t worth your time in the first place,” Cat said dismissively.

Cisco considered this for a moment, then began to nod. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll try it your way.”

“Good,” said Cat, turning back towards the elevator. “Let me know when it works.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had honestly planned to abandon this story, but i decided to revamp it instead. note the changes in the tags please.

Perhaps going for a walk in the middle of the night wasn’t one of Cisco’s smarter ideas.

To be fair though, he had smart ideas all the time. He was entitled to a few stupid ones, every now and then, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford them. The neighborhood where he lived, while at the heart of the city, was still very low-crime. He had National City’s premier superhero on speed dial, and most of her team as well. He had superpowers of his own for any would-be mugger to contend with, and most of them were so used to this fact what with all the aliens running around that they generally didn’t go for any mark that looked too easy.

He was just thinking that he was tired enough to start heading home and maybe even trying to get some sleep when those superpowers unexpectedly reminded him that they were a mixed blessing. As Cisco rounded a corner the world suddenly went blue, all sound cutting out and a pounding headache setting in. Strangely the scene in front of him did not change, and he found himself still looking at the deserted street three blocks from his apartment. As he looked though, he found it was not so deserted anymore. A woman strode nervously past the mouth of an alley a few hundred feet in front of him, and just as she reached the other side a man in a dark hoodie leaped from the shadows. She screamed, staring down the barrel of his gun, and he shot her without so much as blinking. The woman crumpled to the sidewalk, dead.

Cisco sucked in air as he was abruptly dumped back into reality, color coming back in a rush as the scene of the dead woman was replaced once more with an empty street. He staggered, the pain in his head throbbing, his lungs burning, and grabbed onto a lamppost for support. He leaned against it for a few moments, breathing deeply, trying to get control of himself again.

Once Cisco felt he could open his eyes without the light from the streetlamp making his headache worse, he looked up toward the alley he’d seen in his vision. If he strained his eyes he could see the outline of a man, turned away from him toward the other end of the street. His dark hood obscured his features, and his hand hovered at his waistband.

Panic set in. What should he do? Should he call the police? And tell them what, that a suspicious man was lurking in an alleyway? That wasn’t a crime. Should he call Kara? She would get here faster, and he wouldn’t have to explain himself to her. But Kara was helping Alex with something tonight, something not DEO level but important. Could she pull herself away? How fast could she really here? Should he call James? James and Winn were on patrol tonight, but on the other side of the city. Would they get here in time to stop the murder?

As Cisco debated with himself suddenly the click of high heels reached his ears. The woman from his vision rounded the corner, huddled in her thin jacket against the cold. She was only a few hundred feet from the alley, walking briskly to get where she was going and get out of the chill night air. Even if Cisco got out his phone and called now, before Kara or James had even picked up she would be dead.

Cisco did the only thing he could do. As the woman drew closer to the mouth of the alley Cisco forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, stumbling haltingly forward to intercept. She wasn’t looking at him, and he didn’t dare call out to her, but he picked up his pace until he broke into an awkward run. His blood was pounding in his ears and he was painfully conscious of the fact that he had no way to hide his face, but he couldn’t just do nothing. She was reaching the mouth of the alley, just a few more steps and his vision would come true, but he was still a few dozen feet away. The man in the shadows straightened.

Cisco flung out a hand and a blast emanated from his palm. The vibrations struck the man in the shadows, throwing him against the far wall of the alley. The woman screamed as he slumped to the ground, and his gun clattered out onto the illuminated sidewalk. She looked up at Cisco, and immediately he held up a hand to shield his eyes.

“Run!” he called, trying to make his voice sound as deep as possible.

The woman complied turning to sprint in the opposite direction. Once Cisco was satisfied that her footsteps were far enough away he stopped covering his eyes and ran over to the fallen gunman. He placed two fingers to the man’s pulsepoint, and was relieved to find that he still had a heartbeat. Retreating from the alley Cisco nearly tripped over the discarded gun, and he turned and kicked it into a storm drain. Then he decided to follow the woman’s example and fled back the way he had come.

***

Cisco decided not to tell anyone about the events of the previous night. He couldn’t very well have told Kara without explaining that he’d lied to her about having active powers, and the same went for most of their little group. Winn might understand, but for all his wonderful qualities he wasn’t exactly a Russian spy in terms of keeping things to himself. J’onn could keep a secret, but Cisco didn’t really want to put pressure on that particular friendship. J’onn would take care of anyone in the group if he could, but he had official responsibilities too.

Having concluded that not talking about it was best, Cisco was content to forget the entire incident. It had been dark, and he’s shielded his eyes. The woman had been too scared to remember anything but the gun, and had probably run home to forget the whole thing. No one had to know, ever.

As he entered the CatCo building via a basement door however, his phone chimed its text message alert.

_ My office. Now. _

Wondering what on Earth Cat could want from him so early in the day, Cisco made his way to the elevator. A few people gave him funny looks, but no one interrupted his walk to Cat’s office. Once he was inside he found Cat leaning against her desk, facing the door but with head bent over the open file in her hands.

“Miss Grant?” Cisco asked carefully when he was standing in the doorway.

“Close the door,” she said said, and her voice was colder than he’d ever heard it.

Nervousness setting in, Cisco complied. Once they were as alone as they could be, the sounds of the office muffled behind the glass wall, Cat looked up at him. She looked nothing short of furious, and Cisco fought the urge to take a step back.

“Is everything alright?” Cisco asked, trying to hide his surprise.

“Is everything alright?” Cat repeated incredulously. She took off her glasses, rubbed her temples, then fixed Cisco with a glare that was even harder without her expensive lenses to soften it. “Cisco, I was under the impression I’d been quite generous with you.”

“You have been Miss Grant,” Cisco hastened to assure her. “My lab, my apartment, my car-”

“Trivialities,” Cat interrupted sharply. “I took you into my confidence. I gave you my trust. I have been your guardian angel in this universe, Cisco, and I have done all this in exchange for one thing. A little bit of warning.”

“I don’t understand,” Cisco shook his head. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying a heads up would have been nice,” Cat retorted, turning the file around and thrusting it under his nose.

Cisco took the file from her, searching the documents inside for some indication of why she was so angry. He did not have to look far. Pinned to the top of the stack on the left side was an incident report from the police precinct nearest his apartment, which a cursory glance revealed to be about a woman who had been rescued from a gunman by a man who shot energy from his hands. Pinned to the right side was a sketch artist’s rendering of the witness’s savior, a little vague around the eyes but clearly a picture of Cisco.

“Oh God,” Cisco said, to no one in particular. He took a deep breath as frigid panic began to creep along his limbs, making his heart race and his extremities go numb as though with cold. He stared at picture, looking for some way to distinguish the face from his own, but it was like he’d posed for it.

“Indeed,” said Cat, yanking the file from his slack finger. “After everything we’ve been through together, you couldn’t have given me a little notice that you were planning to take up superhero work?”

“Miss Grant this was not my intention,” Cisco shook his head, making his hair flop. “I . . . I had a vision and, and she was going to die and . . . I couldn’t just stand there!”

“Well whether you intended it or not, it’s out there now,” Cat said exasperatedly. Seeming to take pity on him she guided him to one of the sofas and then sat down beside him when he collapsed onto it. “Several smaller news networks have picked up the story, though thankfully the major outlets are holding off for more information. If I don’t run this, I’m going to be behind the game on the biggest scoop since Supergirl.”

Cisco ran both hands through his hair, trying to figure a way out of this. Maybe he should just leave this universe. It couldn’t be that hard to find another place to be. There had to be other versions of Cat Grant somewhere in the multiverse who would be willing to-

“And if I don’t run it, most people probably won’t believe it,” Cat said, cutting through Cisco’s thoughts.

Cisco fought down his panic and tried to focus on what Cat was saying. “You mean, you’d do that?” he asked. “You’d bury the story?”

“I’d only be delaying the inevitable,” Cat said, sounding like she found the idea distasteful. “A person like you, with powers like yours? It’s going to happen sooner or later.”

“Let it be later then,” Cisco begged. “Please, I . . . I just need a little more time. I can’t . . . I can’t  _ do _ this yet. I’m not ready.”

“Well  _ get _ ready,” Cat warned, “because these are dangerous times we live in, and this city needs as many heroes at it can get. You won’t be allowed to hide forever.”

“I’ll come out eventually,” Cisco promised. “When I do I’ll give you an exclusive interview and whatever else you want. You can call me whatever you want, tell people whatever you want about me, just  _ please _ not yet.”

Cat sighed, rubbed her temples again, then put her glasses back on. Then she closed the file and stood up. As Cisco watched she walked to the trash can next to her desk and tossed the file into it. Then she turned back around to face him.

“This is not forever,” she told him sternly. “I’ll do whatever I can to discredit the story, but you need to understand, I will not help you hide.”

“I’m not hiding,” Cisco insisted, then winced when Cat raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, I’m not hiding for no reason. I haven’t told anyone what I can do yet, I haven’t trained to fight. I don’t . . .  know how this is done.”

“It’s done the way you did it last night,” Cat informed him, “because it needs doing and you have no other choice. If you want more than that I’m sure Supergirl could teach you anything you think you need, but I’m telling you right now, you’ve already got it.”

“Thank you Miss Grant,” Cisco dipped his head in acknowledgement. “That means a lot coming from you.”

“Well I am the city’s resident superhero guru,” Cat said resignedly. “I made Supergirl, and I’ll make you into something worth writing about too. Just promise me one thing?”

“Anything,” Cisco said vehemently.

“Think of a good name.”


End file.
